In a move that will be a major relief for many, in the light of the government's demonetization move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave an additional 60 days to the public, to repay their loan dues. 

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The RBI, on Monday, tweak the NPA classification norms in the wake of the liquidity crunch in the economy.

However, the additional timeframe will be only applicable for those who have borrowings less than Rs 1 crore and for payments due between November 1 and December 31, 2016. 

"It has been represented to us that consequent upon withdrawal of the legal tender status of the existing ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 notes (SBN) small borrowers may need some more time to repay their loan dues. Taking these representations into consideration, it has been decided to provide an additional 60 days beyond what is applicable for the concerned regulated entity(RE) for recognition of a loan account as substandard," the central bank said. 

The RBI, in a notification on its website, said, the facility will be applicable for running capital working capital accounts, crop loans, with any bank, where the sanctioned limit is Rs 1 crore or less. It will also be applicable for those with term loans, whether business or personal, secured or otherwise, the original sanctioned amount whereof is Rs 1 crore or less, on the books of any bank or any NBFC, including NBFC (MFI). This shall include housing loans and agriculture loans, the RBI said. 

It said the facility will also be available for loans sanctioned by banks to NBFC (MFI), NBFCs, Housing Finance Companies, and PACs and by State Cooperative Banks to DCCBs. 

"The additional time given shall only apply to defer the classification of an existing standard asset as substandard and not for delaying the migration of an account across sub-categories of NPA," the RBI said.